This invention relates generally to lawn and garden tractors and more particularly, to hitch mechanisms for mounting utility attachments to such lawn and garden tractors.
Today's lawn and garden tractors do far more than simply cut grass. With the right attachments, such tractors can clear snow, spread fertilizer, cultivate soil and haul material. Convenience and utility, however, frequently depend on the ease with which attachments can be installed and removed. Unnecessary complexity or difficulty increases the time and effort needed to change attachments and can drastically compromise the overall utility of the machine.
Although a simple hitch and pin arrangement will suffice for connecting attachments that are trailed behind a tractor, the connection of attachments that are mounted under or forward of the tractor is more complex. These attachments, which typically include mower decks and snow throwers, require greater support as well as some form of power takeoff connection to the tractor's engine or prime mover. Both requirements increase the complexity and difficulty of connecting the attachment particularly when the attachment is heavy, unwieldy or hard to handle.
In typical arrangements, nuts, bolts, clevis pins, etc., are used to secure the attachments to a tractor. This is a difficult and time consuming method in that the fasteners are awkward and difficult to handle, particularly in cold weather or when the weight or size of the attachment makes it difficult to align the mounting holes.
In view of the foregoing, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hitch system for lawn and garden tractors. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hitch system that allows convenient and simple connection and removal of attachments that are mounted under or in front of the tractor.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hitch system that can be operated quickly, easily and without the need to handle a multitude of small parts.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hitch system that simplifies the task of aligning a heavy attachment with the tractor.